Mower



MOWER Filed May 2, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 mm mm ow 2. l f k K gqu 8 m0 wk Mk. mm wk w .9 8 2) n L w: M E18 mm mm 9 8 5 m9 5 m m 3 8 mg on & N L 0Q a. my

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WAN 5'. comm FRED KSEN ATTORNEYS.

March 3, 1942. E. T. JOHNSON ET AL MOWER Filed May 2, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 3

INVENTOR. ELLSWORTH T. JOHNSON NOLAN D. COLVlN L J. FR E N 1 ATTORNEYS.

March 3, 1942. E. T. JOHNSON ETAL 2,275,259

MOWER Filed May 2, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 BY 9 N /4, I

/ ATTORNEYS.

MOWER Filed May 2, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 0 O D Q 5 0 o L30 0 o 26 2 FIG. 7 w

/ ATTO EYS.

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"ED TE PATENT OFFICE time22:12:11. Colvin, and Carl & Company, Moline, 11]., a corporation of Illinois KpplicationMay 2, 19-10, Serial No. 332,914

19 Claims. (01. 56-25) Lrelates to tractorthe supporting arm, and the mechanism for raishas for, its primary object ing. the cutter bar.

p H improved and simplified Referring now to the drawings, the mower, indura eand inexpensive to mandicated in its entirety by reference numeral I0, A"m e peciiicti object of our invenis mounted on a tractor ll of any suitable desionjof'a simplified sup sign comprising generally a central body portion l2 having laterally extending rear axle housfurtheri 'objectfhas to" dofwith an imings l3 supported on a, pair of laterally spaced proved and simplifiedjconnection between, the rear traction wheels l4 and having a rearwardly arm'of meande bar and the mower projecting power take-off shaft l5 carried in a frame. v lljano erfobject relates to [the probearing portion IE on the rear side of the tractor vision of a'durableand simplified latch mecha body [2.

ni m for re leasably holding the mower structure The mower supported on a rigid framework re'lative'to itssupportingframe. Another object 20 rigidly mounted on the'rear-axle housings of ha t o-db jwith'the prqvigi n o a simplified powe the tractor which are provided with suitable imerficonnectiohfbetwen etra'ctor power take-off plement connecting bosses 2|, which are well shaft "andtlgen o on" providing 1 the 1 known to those skilled in the art. The frame con'n'ectio f power transmitti means comprises a pair of main frame members 22, 23, he 11;1ie m w g jfi-egr r upon eachof which is connected at one end to an atcounterin a obstruction Another object has 20 tachingplatelZLWhich is mounted on the axle ,f H visionfof a 'st'ron'g'. but simple housing bosses 2| by bolts 25. The main frame lifting means f a p'g' t mow tt r bar members 22, 23 each have a portion 26 extending in'which the controllever is located'conveniently downwardly from the connecting p ate 24 and th spe t 1-, t lt tq p r to 's t o each of the members 22, 23 turns horizontally butflwhiehfdo s otjchapgefitg pqsiti o n appreci- 25 rearwardly to form a horizontally disposed supably whelnfh'e" owef mg r war' y; porting frame. One of the frame members 23 is jThese'and o't jobjects'willbecome apparent curved horizontally in a circular arc, as indi after ,1 g n iag'm F f the f 11 wing desc -1p cated at 21, and the two frame members are rigoh tg gn fint cqn'ju njwli'th t app I idly interconnected by any suitable means. at a ng iflwhiehf J I p 3! their points of intersection. The horizontal por- 1 Figure" 1; is, ajsidg gn t o Qf'a mower tions of the two frame members 22, 23 are inhqdying the r d mgof o i v t and terconnected near their forward ends by a transho mquntedfofi a itragtdr, o h which versely disposed channel beam 28 and the horiisremoved" nriofre clef 'ly show thepart of t zontal and vertical portions of the two beams are braced by diagonal bracing members 29. {Eigure zfis a fragmentary; plan fview of the The cutter bar supporting structure includes a bwe the"partsfin'fnormal operating longitudinally extending frame member in the v N V I form of a tubular drive housing 35. The tubug g;- c't 1 ew en-a on 'n lar housing is preferably in the form of a casting 3-3 in Figure 2 and drawn to an; enlarged scale and having a forwardly extending yo e portion shdwing th ii' t 'j g f thqa'tc m an s 35 which is pivotally connected to the transverse frame member 28 by means of a pivot bolt 31 providing for lateral swinging movement of the housing 35 relative to the supporting frame 20. The rear end of the housing 35 is supported upon the curved portion 21 of the main beam 23 on a pair of laterally extending wings 39 cast integral with the housing 35, and which slidably bears upon the curved portion 21 of th 7 frame member 23. Inasmuch as the beam 23 is Figure imsiilli curved about the pivot bolt 31 as a center, the sectional ea'r'" elevation tak sliding portions 33 follow the curve in the memalonga 'lin Lin Figu-r 2;aiid= ber 23 andare supported thereon as the cutter 1 ;,3 A rg m ntary' r' 'g l m 'at how; bar structure swings about the pivot bolt 31. ing the connection between the cutter bar and The rear end of the housing 35 is formed with a laterally offset bracket portion 46 formed integrally with the housing 65 and braced thereto by a pair of longitudinally spaced webs 4|, 42.

The bracket 46 is provided with a longitudinally extending tubular bore 46, best shown in Figures 3 and 6, within which is disposed a spindle. rigidly secured to the bracket 46 by a number of set screws 45. The spindle 44 extends rearwardly out of the bracket 46 and provides a threaded to engage with internal threads in the a bore 52. By virtue of this threaded connection the connecting member 56 is rotatable relative to the spindle 44 about the fore and aft extending axis of the latter.

The member 56 further includes a transversely disposed sleeve portion 53 which is cast integrally with the sleeve portion 5I and is strengthened by suitable bracing webs 54.

As best seen in Figure 5, the cutter bar supporting arm 46 is tubular in shape and the inner or supporting end of the latter is provided with a stub shaft 55 which is fixed, as by welding, in the end of the tubular arm 46 and has a threaded end portion 56 of reduced diameter. The transverse sleeve 53 is provided with an internal bore 51 which is adapted to slidably receive the stub shaft 55 adjacent the end of the sleeve 46, while the opposite end of the bore is of reduced diameter, as indicated at 56, and is threaded to receive the threaded end 56 of the shaft 55. a portion of the sleeve 56 is cored to produce an enlarged space 56 between the bearing portion 51 and the threaded portion 56 of the bore to provide sufficient relief that the shaft 55 will rotate freely within the sleeve 53 and thus provide for rocking the cutter bar supporting arm 46 about its major axis in order to adjust the plane of the cutter bar angularly with respect to the ground.

The bore 52 is also provided with an enlarged central portion 66 which is cored in the sleeve 5| to provide sufficient relief to permit the connecting member 56 to be readily rocked about the major axis of the spindle 44 to permit the cutter bar supporting arm to'be raised and lowered relative to the housing 35.

On the outer end of the cutter bar supporting arm is mounted a cutter bar 65 of any suitable conventional construction, the details of which form no part of the present invention. The cutter bar is rigidly supported at its inner end on a shoe 66 which is pivotally mounted on a shoe arch 61 on a pair of fore and aft spaced pivot bolts 66, 66 disposed coaxially at the two ends of the shoe arch 61, respectively, and are received within suitable apertures in a pair of fore and aft spaced supporting lugs 16, H on the cutter bar shoe 66. The shoe arch 61 is rigidly fixed to the end of the supporting arm 46 by any suitable means, as by welding.

The cutter bar is maintained in laterally extending position during normal operation by means of a drag link connected at its rear end to the forward leg of the shoe arch 61 by means of a nut 16, as best shown in Figure 1. The drag The central.

link 15 extends obliquely forwar and the forward end is received within asuitable aperture in a downwardly extending lug 11 at the forward end of the bracket 66 of the housing .65 and is suitably retained therein by a nut 16.

Slidably disposed on the cutter bar 65 is a more or less-conventional sickle .66 which is connected by a ball and socket joint II to a pitman 62 which is driven by a power transmitting shaft 66 which is Joumaled in the longitudinally disposed drive housing 65 and projects forwardly and rearwardly therefrom. On the rear end of the drive shaft 66 is mounted a flywheel 64 to which is fixed a crank pin 65 in eccentric relation thereto. The inner end of the pitman 62 is provi ded with a bearing 66 journaled on the crank pin 65, whereby rotation of the drive shaft 66 transmits a reciprocating movement through the pitman 62 to the sickle 66. A belt pulley 61 is fixed to the forward end of the drive shaft 66 and this pulley is driven through a flat power transmitting belt 66 from a driving pulley 66 fixed to the power take-off shaft I5 of the tractor I2.

- operating position.

The cutter bar structure is normally held against swinging rearwardly and inwardly on its pivotal connection 31 by means of a latch mechanism I66, which will now be described. The latch mechanism I66 comprises a transversely disposed ber I6I extends laterally inwardly from the pivot I62 and is swingable in a vertical plane about the fore and aft extending axis of the pivot I62. A concave hooked portion I64 is provided on the under side of the latch I6l, which embraces the upper side of a cylindrical portion I65 at the rear end of the drive housing 35. A compression spring I66. presses downwardly on the latch member I6I between the housing portion I65 and the pivot I62 to hold the latch member in yielding engagement with the drive housing. The spring I66 reacts against a washer I61 which bears against a nut I66 threaded on the upper end of a rod I66 which extends downwardly through the spring I66 and through an opening I I6 in the latch member and is fixed, as by welding, to an L-shaped bracket III welded on the rear side of the frame member 23.

When the cutter bar strikes an obstruction in the field during operation, the forward motion of the tractor exerts a force tending to swing the cutter bar and its supporting structure inwardly and rearwardly about the pivot 61 and tending to force the housing 35 out from under the latch member IN and forcing the latter upwardly against the pressure of the spring I66. The spring pressure can be adjusted by means of the nut I66 so that the normal drag of the cutter bar during operation is not sufflcient to release the latch, but when the cutter bar strikes a stone or stump the latch is released and the cutter bar and supporting structure swing about dly'and inwardly I the pivot 31. This causes the bearing portions 39 to slide laterally on the curved section 21 of the beam 23 and thus supporting the rear end of the drive housing as the latter swings away from the latch and thereby allowing the cutter bar to swing rearwardly into trailing position be-. hind the tractor. The driven pulley 81 swings 90 drops only a short distance until the supportingcrank axle 9| is received upon a bracket II2 which isfixed to the transverse frame beam 28 by bolts I I3.

The cutter bar is then returned to latched position by backing the tractor and causing the drive housing to swing back into engagement with the latch IOI, which is provided with an inclin-ed camming surface II4 which rides up over the housing portion I05 and returns the latch member to latched-position. As the housing 35 swings back to normal position, the pulley 81 moves the belt 88 against the idler 90 once again, the latter having been held in proper position by the bracket II2, thus restoring the driving relation between the two pulleys. The belt 88 is prevented from throwing ofhthepulleys by means of a belt retainer I comprising"amtalrod'bent into the form of a loop encircling the upper portion of the driving pulley 89 in a position in which it can engage the edge of the belt 88 when it tends to slip axially off the pulley 89. The retainer I20 is supported on a transversely extending frame member I2 I, which is spaced above the horizontal supporting frame of the mower and is supported at its opposite ends on bolts I22 which are connected to the upper ends of the vertical portions 26 of the main frame members 22, 23, respectively.

The cutter bar is raised and lowered by means of a hand lever I25 which is fixed to a rock shaft I26 which is journaled in abracket I24 rigidly fixed to the frame member I2I. The opposite end of the rock shaft I26 is bent forwardly and extends to a position in which it conveniently serves as a foot lever, the forward end I21 being bent to provide a pedal operable by the foot of the tractor operator. The foot lever is braced to the hand lever .I25 by a pair of braces I 28, I29. A vertically disposed sleeve I30 is rotatably mounted on a vertical spindle I3l which is fixed on the transverse frame beam 28, and the upper end of the sleeve I30 is joumaled in a bracket I32 fixed to the upper frame member I20. A horizontal boom I33 is rigidly fixed, as by welding, to the rotatable sleeve I30 and extends rearwardly therefrom and the boom is strengthened by a diagonally extending brace I34 connecting the outer end of the boom with the upper end of the sleeve I30. At the outer end of the boom is mounted a bell crank I35 comprising a pair of angularly related levers I36, I31, respectively, connected to the boom at their inner ends by a common pivot bolt I38, their outer ends being interconnected by a rigidbrace I39. Each of the levers I36, I31 is bifurcated, as indicated at I in Figure l, to straddle the outer end of the boom I33, the pivot bolt I38 extending through aligned apertures in the two legs of each lever and the boom itself. The hand lever I25 is connected to the bell crank I35 by means of an extensible link I4I comprising a pair of rods I42 adjustably fixed together'by clamps I43. By adjusting the'length of the link I the position of the hand lever I25 and foot'lever I21 canbe adjusted to the most convenient position. The lower lever I36 of the bell crank I35 is connected by a link I45 to the conventional raising mechanism, indicated in its entirety by reference numeral I46, which is well known to those skilled in the art, but which comprises briefly a bell crank I48-joumaled on the cutter bar supporting arm 46 for rocking movement about an axis perpendicular to the axis of the arm 46 in a bracket I41 which is rigidly fixed, as by welding, to the arm 46. The forward arm I48 of the bell crank I46 I5I together with the cutter bar 65 upwardly about the pivots 68,69 of the cutter bar and at the same time raising the cutter bar supporting arm 46 in a manner well known to those skilled in the art, the mechanism being so designed as to cause the lifting force to raise the cutter bar alt tltl ,abovea horizontal position and then to swingthe cutter bar supporting arm 46 upwardly about its threaded joint connection between the longitudinal sleeve 5| and the spindle 44.

By virtue of the fact that the boom supporting sleeve I30 is joumaled about a vertical axis which is closely adjacent to the axis of the pivot bolt 31, it is evident that when the cutter bar swings rearwardly about the pivot bolt 31, the boom I33 swings laterally and the linkage between the hand lever I25 and the cutter bar is not changed in position to any appreciable extent by the swinging of the cutter bar and boom. The hand lever I25 does not swing with the boom but the link connection between the lever and the bell crank swings at its point of connection with the lever I25, which point, it will be noted, is very near the vertical axis of the boom supporting sleeve I30.

The weight of the cutter bar and its supporting arm is counterbalanced by means of a spring I55 connected to the upper lever I31 of the bell crank I35 and anchored at its forward end to a bracket I56 which is welded to the boom supporting sleeve I30, hence the spring swings laterally with the boom and exerts an upward force at all times upon the bell crank I35.

The cutter bar is tilted longitudinally to adjust the angle between the fore and aft extending plane of the cutter bar and the ground by means of a manually actuated lever I60 which is formed integrally with a clamping member I6I which embraces the upper half of the cutter bar supporting arm 46. The clamping member [BI is provided with a pair of outwardly extending ears I 62 which are clamped by means of bolts I63 to the corresponding ears I64 of a cooperative clamping member I65 which embraces the lower half of the arm 46. The cutter bar is secured in adjusted position by means of a bolt I66 which exetnds through an aperture I61 in the lever I60 and through an arcuate slot I68 in a vertically extending locking portion I69 of the connecting member 50. The locking sector I68 is provided with a serrated vertical face I10 which is engaged by a cooperative serrated member "I fixed to the adjusting lever I. The lever ISO is clamped against the locking sector I by means of a hand-operated nut I12 engaging the threaded end of the bolt I. When' adjusting the tilt of the cutter bar, the nut I12 is loosened sufficiently to permit the teeth I'll -of the lever I to be moved past theserrated face I" of the locking sector I", and when the nut I1! is tightened, the cutter bar is held rigidly against tilting relative to the connecting member 50. The cutter bar can be shifted laterally relative to the sickleby first loosening the clamping bolts I and removing the spindle 44 from the sleeve 4! after the set screws 45 have been loosened, after which the connecting member I. can be given one or more complete turns on the threaded shaft 56, and thus adjusting the register of the cutter bar with respect to the sickle.

' The alignment ofthe pitman 82 with respectto the sickle, can be accomplished byloosening the set screws 45 and sliding the spindle in or out of the sleeve 40, or by screwing the threaded end of the spindle 44 into or out of the tapped opening 52 in the sleeve 5| of the connecting member 50.

We do not intend our invention to be limited to the exact details shown and described herein except as set forth in the following claims.

we claim: I k

l. A tractor mower comprising a supporting frame adapted to be rigidly mounted on a tractor and disposed generally horizontally, a longitudinally extending frame member pivotally connected at one end thereof to said supporting frame and swingable laterally, the other end of said member slidable bearing on said supporting frame to support said member, a supporting arm connectedto said-member and extending laterally therefrom, and a cutter bar mounted on said arm.

2. A tractor mower comprising a supporting frame adapted to be rigidly mounted on the rear of a tractor and disposed generally horizontally, a longitudinally disposed frame member pivotally connected at its forward end to said supporting frame and swingable laterally, the rear end of said frame member being slidably supported on said supporting frame, a cutter bar supporting arm connected to said member and extending laterally therefrom, a cutter bar mounted on said arm, and releasable means for securing said frame member relative to said supporting frame.

3. A tractor mower-as claimed in claim 2, further characterized in that said releasable securing means comprises a transversely disposed latch member mounted on the rear end of said supporting frame at one side of said frame member and releasably engaged therewith.

4. A tractor mower comprising a supporting frame, a longitudinally disposed tubular frame member pivotally connected to said supporting v frame for lateral swinging movement relative thereto, a cutter bar supporting arm mounted on said frame member, and means for yieldably securing said frame member against lateral swinging movement comprising a latch pivotally frame for lateral swinging movement, the rear end of'said housing beingslidably supported on said frame, a drive shaft journaled in said housing, a drive connection at the forward end of said shaft for receiving power from a tractor, a

cutter bar supporting arm mounted on said frame member, and means for yieldably securing said frame member against lateral swinging movement comprising a latch pivotally mounted on saidsupporting frame and having a concave portion adapted to embrace said tubular member and means for resiliently urging said latch in engagement with said member.

6. A tractor mower comprising a tubular housing disposed longitudinally relative to the line of travel, a drive shaft iournaled in said housing, a drive connection at the forward end of said shaft adapted to receive power from a tractor, said housing having a portion extending forwardly of said drive connection, a supporting frame adapted to be rigidly mounted on a tractor,

means disposed ahead of said drive connection 7. A tractor mower comprising a tubular housing disposed longitudinally relative to the line of travel, a drive shaft journaled in said housing,

a pulley connected to the forward end of said,

drive shaft, a power transmitting belt adapted to connect said pulley with a pulley on the power take-off shaft of a tractor, said housing having a portion extending forwardly of said pulley, a supporting frame adapted to be rigidly mounted on a tractor, means disposed ahead of said pulley for pivotally connecting said housing to said supporting frame providing for swinging said housing laterally to move said pulley toward the pulley on the tractor to loosen said power belt, the rear end of said housingbeing slidably supported on said frame, sickle driving means on the rear end of said drive shaft, a cutter bar supporting arm mounted at the rear end of said housing, and a latch member mounted on said frame at one side of said housing and having a portion yieldably embracing said tubular housing behind said pivot for holding the latter against lateral swinging movement.

8. In a mower, a support, a cutter bar support ing arm, and means for connecting said arm to said support providing for vertical swinging movement of said arm for raising and lowering the latter comprising a pair of cooperative connecting members on said support and said arm, respectively, having interengaging threads disposed coaxial to the axis of vertical swinging pivotally connected at its forward end to said movement.

9. In a mower, a drive housing, a horizontally disposed shaft rotatable therein and extending out of one end thereof, a cutter bar, a sickle coactive therewith, a supporting arm to which said sickle is connected, power transmitting mechanism interconnecting said sickle and said shaft, and a threaded connection between said supporting arm and said housing, the axis of said threaded connection being generally parallel to said shaft providing for adjusting said arm to align said power transmitting mechanism and for vertical swinging movement to raise and lower said cutter bar,

10. In a mower, a support, a supporting arm, a cutter bar carried thereby, and means for connecting said arm to said support providing for vertical swinging movement of said arm for raising and lowering the cutter bar and for rotation of said arm about its major axis for tilting the cutter bar, said means comprising a connecting member having a threaded connection with said arm coaxial with the major axis of the latter and a threaded connection with said support having an axis disposed substantially perpendicular to said axis of the arm.

11. In a mower, a support having a horizontally disposed threaded spindle, an arm, a cutter bar pivotally connected at one end of-said arm, a connecting member having a threaded socket adapted to receive said threaded spindle in rotatable threaded engagement, said member having a second threaded socket adapted to receive the other end of said arm, the latter being threaded and rotatable therein, and means for adjustably fixing said arm relative to said member.

12. In a mower, a longitudinally extending drive housing, a laterally extending supporting arm, a cutter bar pivotally mounted at the outer end of the latter, a connecting member'having a threaded socket disposed on a transvers axis for receiving the inner end of said arm, the latter being threaded for rotatable engagement with said member, adjustable interlocking members on said arm and said connecting member for ad justably setting the position of said arm in said socket for determining the fore and aft angle between the cutter bar and the ground, a threaded connection between said connecting member and said drive housing disposed ona-longitudinally extending axis for swingably supporting the inner end of said arm on said drive housing for raising and lowering the cutter bar, and lifting means for swinging said arm about said longi-' tudinally extending axis.

13. A mower comprising a wheel supporte frame, a drive housing pivotally connected thereto for swinging movement in a generally horition with said frame providing for rearward swinging movement of said cutter bar and structure when said bar encounters an obstruction, a boom pivotally mounted on said frame to swing horizontally with said structure, a bell crank mounted on the end of said boom and connected with said cutter bar structure, and means for rocking said bell crank to lift said cutter bar.

15. A mower comprising a wheel supported frame, a transverse cutter bar, a supporting structure therefor having a pivotal draft connection with said frame providing for rearward swinging movement of said cutter bar and structure when said bar encounters an obstruction, a boom pivotally mounted on said frame to swing horizontally with said structure, and a lever mounted on said frame and flexibly connected through means on-the end of said boom with said cutter bar to lift the latter.

16. A mower comprising a wheel supported frame, a transverse cutter bar, a supporting structure therefor having a pivotal draft connection with said frame providing for rearward swinging movement of said cutter bar and structure when said bar encounters an obstruction, a boom pivotally mounted on said frame to swing horizontally with said structure, a bell crank mounted on the end of said boom and connected with said cutter bar structure, and a lever mounted on said frame and flexibly connected with said bell crank to lift said cutter bar.

17. A mower. comprising a wheel supported frame, a transverse cutter bar, a supporting structure therefor having a pivotal draft connection with said frame providing for rearward swinging movement of said cutter bar and structur when said bar encounters an obstruction, a boom pivotally mounted on said frame to swing horizontally with said structure, a bell crank mounted on the end of said boom and connected with said cutter bar structure, means for rocka ing said bell crank to lift said cutter bar, and a frame, a transverse cutter bar, a supporting structure therefor having a pivotal draft connection with said fram providing for rearward swinging movement of said cutter bar and structure when said bar encounters an obstruction,

a boom pivotally mounted on said frame to swin horizontally with said structure, a bell crank mounted on the end of said boom and connected with said cutter bar structure, a lifting lever pivotally mounted on said frame, and a link connected at one end to said bell crank and pivotally connected to said lever approximately on the axis of swinging movement of said boom, whereby swinging movement of said cutter bar structure and boom has little effect on the position of said lever.

19. A tractor mower comprising a supportin frame adapted to be rigidly mounted on a tractor and disposed generally horizontally, a longitudinally disposed frame member pivotally connected at one end thereof to said supporting frame and swingable laterally, the other end of said member slidably bearing on said supporting frame to support said member, a supporting arm connected to said member and extending laterally therefrom, a cutter bar swingable vertically on said arm, releasable means for, securing said frame member against said lateral movement, a boom pivotally mounted on said supporting frame for lateral swinging movement, a manually operated lever mounted on said supporting frame and means supported on the end of said boom interconnecting said lever and said cutter bar for swinging said cutter bar vertically.

ELLSWORTH T. JOHNSON.

NOLAN D. COL'VIN.

CARL J. FREDERIKSEN. 

